Czech Republic offers Indonesia wide-range defense equipment
Czech Republic offers Indonesia wide-range defense equipment
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Czech Republic, aware of Indonesia's dire need of military
equipment, has offered a wide-range of defense products to
compensate for the equipment that is still under limited embargo
by the United States.
Visiting Czech Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and Security
Policy/Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Kavan, in an interview
with The Jakarta Post on Monday, said that Czech arms factories
were known worldwide and were ready to supply defense products to
Indonesia.
"In trade, I wanted to raise the discussion of cooperation in
defense industries ... the Czech Republic has had a long
tradition in defense industries, ranging from small equipment to
aircraft," Kavan said.
Indonesia's traditional arms supplier, the United States, has
imposed a ban on arms sales to the Jakarta government following
human rights abuses in its former province of East Timor in 1999,
where massive destruction and human rights violations were
allegedly conducted by the Indonesian Military (TNI) after the
province opted for independence in a United Nations-sponsored
referendum.
Kavan said his government realized Jakarta's need for defense
equipment in its bid to improve its defense capability to deal
with the nation's security issues.
"But, our foreign policy will harmonize with the view of the
European Union," Kavan said. Currently, the Czech Republic is
fighting to become a member of the union. The EU lifted its
military embargo on Indonesia two years ago.
During his three-day visit to Indonesia, Kavan opened a new
Czech consulate in Surabaya, the provincial capital of East Java,
as part of the Prague government's drive to boost bilateral trade
ties.
He emphasized the need for the Jakarta government to convince
foreign investors of Indonesia's security and safety in the long
run.
He said that he had talks with a businessman in Surabaya about
the possibility of importing some 5,000 Czech-made Skoda sedans
to be used as taxis in Indonesia's second largest city.
During his short stay in Jakarta, Kavan met with President
Megawati Soekarnoputri, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan
Wirayuda, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and People's Consultative
Assembly Speaker Amien Rais.
Besides talks on ways to boost bilateral ties, other major
international issues, like fighting international terrorism and
the future of Indonesia's ties with East Timor, were also
discussed with the Indonesian officials, said Kavan, who is one
of the candidates for the next United Nations General Assembly's
president.
"As a member of NATO, we really appreciate that Indonesia, as
the world's largest Muslim country, condemned the attack against
the U.S. last September. I want to hear the Indonesian
politicians' view on terrorism and how to deal with it," Kavan
said, adding that as a candidate for General Assembly's
president, he wishes to see friendlier relations between
Indonesia and East Timor.
"The Czech Republic sees Indonesia as the most reliable
partner in the region and we need to maintain the
nonproblematical relations with Indonesia. We perceive Indonesia
as the stabilizing factor in the region," he remarked.
Kavan, who is on a tour of three Southeast Asian nations, left
for Bangkok on Monday afternoon.